Controlled Access Program Coordination Office (CAPCO)

Director of Central Intelligence Directive (DCID) 6/11 was issued in 1995 establishing the Controlled Access Program Oversight Committee (CAPOC) to assist the Director of Central Intelligence in carrying out his responsibilities for controlled access programs in the National Foreign Intelligence Program. In 2006 Intelligence Community Policy Memorandum (ICPG) 2006-700-10 established the Senior Review Group (SRG), under the direction of the CAPOC Chair, as the management body for compartmented programs under the purview of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). These two policy documents established the Controlled Access Program Coordination Office (CAPCO) as the DNI's focal point for issues and processes dealing with controlled access programs.

The Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI)/Special Access Program (SAP) Management (SSM) branch is the staffing element for the CAPOC and the SRG, which are responsible for oversight and management of all IC controlled access programs on behalf of the DNI. The SSM staff facilitates and participates in cross program reviews on SCI control systems, SAPs and, in conjunction with DoD’s Special Access Program Coordination Office (SAPCO), DoD intelligence SAPs. The SSM branch coordinates with the SAPCO during the formulation of policy to ensure the maximum reciprocity of standards.

The Director of Central Intelligence Directive (DCID) 6/6 dated July 13, 2001 mandated "A uniform list of security control markings authorized for dissemination of classified information by components of the Intelligence Community, and the authorized abbreviated forms of such markings, shall be compiled in the Authorized Classification and Control Markings Register (known as the CAPCO Register) maintained by the [CAPCO] pursuant to DCID [6/11]." This system uses a uniform list of markings and provides the allowable vocabulary for all national intelligence markings and other non-IC markings applied to all media produced and collected by components of the IC, and is overseen and maintained by the Classification and Control Markings (CCM) branch. The CCM staff ensures standardization within the IC by managing and maintaining the Register and its associated Implementation Manual, and by providing advice and guidance regarding National and IC level markings standards to all elements of the IC, DoD and other users of national intelligence information. The CCM staff also manages the Classification Marking Implementation Working Group (CMIWG), active since 1998 and established by ICPG 2006-700-10 as a standing IC-wide body responsible for coordinating all changes to the CAPCO Register and Implementation Manual. The CMIWG comprises senior security policy representatives with a classification management background representing their agencies' positions on marking issues affecting the IC.